Impending Vote on Equality Act; Parental Rights in the Balance

The so-called Equality Act (H.R. 5) is moving very quickly through Congress. Despite the bill’s name, the Equality Act would dramatically elevate the rights and privileges of a select few while dealing a devastating blow to parental rights.

H.R. 5 is far-sweeping; it would amend several federal civil rights laws including the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes equal to immutable and inborn characteristics like race, age, sex and national origin.

The results of this radical legislation will be widespread and disastrous. We need only look to the states or our neighbor to the north with similar laws to predict what we’re in for should the Equality Act become law.

In 16 states now, parents do not have a choice when they seek counseling for their children struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion. In other words, counseling that encourages children to change their gender – even to go through irreversible “genital reconstruction” operations – would be protected by the state. But counseling to help children accept their God-given birth sex would be outlawed. These therapy bans interfere with parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing and completely disregard family faith or values. What’s worse—the bans were passed with no regard for what type of therapy may actually be best for children long-term.

In Ohio — a state without legislation of this sort — a judge already removed custody from parents of a 17-year-old for their refusal to allow her to undergo life-altering gender transition hormone treatments. This decision came after a two-year custody battle which started with family services alleging parental neglect and abuse for their religiously held beliefs about gender. When the child was placed in temporary custody of family services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital recommended the 17-year-old undergo hormone therapy at its Transgender Health Clinic, which she did.

This hospital tells first-time patients that their healthcare providers may speak to minors without their parents because “Sometimes young people also have questions that they are afraid to ask in front of their family or guardians.” The clinic also conducts a psychosocial interview to “help understand how the patient and family or guardians are functioning and see if there are any needs.”

It’s not far-fetched to surmise that what they really mean is “see if parents support the gender transition of their young son or daughter, and if not, we’ll take you to court.”

That’s exactly what happened to a Canadian dad earlier this year. In February, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada ruled that a 14-year-old girl would be administered testosterone injections by her doctor against her father’s wishes and consent. Despite a parent’s insistence that his minor daughter should wait until she was older — not a child anymore — to make this life-altering decision, the court said the child had the right to decide for herself. The judge, who ruled on the basis of federal law, blatantly dismissed parental objection to the medical treatment of his minor child.

As if the case couldn’t get any worse, it did. Just last month, the judge declared the father guilty of “family violence” due to his “expressions of rejection of [her] gender identity.” In other words, a dad refused to refer to his daughter as a boy. As a result, he was convicted of a crime against his daughter, given a gag order and ordered not to expose his daughter to any resources which may bring her gender identity or treatment into question.

These cases seem to say everyone other than parents knows best! We believe differently.

We know that parents have a God-given and Constitutionally protected right to direct the upbringing of their children—including their moral values, faith, education and healthcare. We cannot allow misguided legislation to threaten that right!

We believe families should have the right to pursue mental health counseling consistent with their beliefs and religion — be it for depression, anxiety, gender confusion or any other condition.

We believe parents must have the right to prevent their children from accessing experimental puberty-blocking hormones, cross-sex hormones (which can lead to sterilization), and certainly irreversible, life-altering “genital reconstruction” surgery.